The above tuna weighed 276 kg and was caught off the coast of Oma in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture, according to the newspaper. The Asahi Shimbun.
“This is the freshest tuna among all the fish sold,” said Yukitaka Yamaguchi, president of Yamayuki Co, the intermediary trading company that offered the highest price at the auction.
A 276 kg bluefin tuna was sold for 207 million yen in the first tuna auction of the new year at Toyosu market in Tokyo (Japan) on January 5, 2025.
Mr. Yamayuki placed the order on behalf of sushi restaurant operator Ginza Onodera, purchasing the most expensive tuna for the fifth consecutive year.
Mr. Yamaguchi (62 years old) commented: “The situation is still harsh in natural disaster areas on the Noto Peninsula”, referring to the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that occurred in this area on the first day. new year last year. “We are happy if (the auction results) help brighten Japan,” Mr. Yamaguchi emphasized.
“The first tuna is something that brings good luck. Our wish is that everyone will eat this fish and have a wonderful year,” Onodera representative Shinji Nagao told reporters after the auction, according to AFP. Onodera paid 114 million yen for the largest tuna in the early 2024 auction.
The 207 million yen was the second highest price paid for a tuna in Japan’s first New Year’s auction since 1999.
According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, which has kept records since 1999, the highest priced bluefin tuna in the first auction of the new year was 333.6 million yen, set in 2019.
